The King and I
by auroralei
Summary: When Brady and Mikayla get trapped in a cave, will true feelings be finally revealed? Will Boomer find a way to save the pair? Will Lanny finally be king? And where is Mason?
1. When Mason's Away, We Will Play

**The King and I**

**Summary: **When Brady and Mikayla get trapped in a cave, will true feelings be finally revealed? Will Boomer find a way to save the pair? Will Lanny finally be king?

**Chapter 1: When Mason's Away, We Will Play**

Mason hesitantly grabbed his bags. He sighed heavily as he eyed the twin kings. What was supposed to be his most relaxing day of the year became his biggest worry. Traditionally, as secretary, Mason was given a full day of vacation, and paid at that. He typically took his beloved daughter, Mikayla with him to enjoy quality time doing some of his favorite leisure activities –surfing, fishing, machete sharpening, and dancing. But Mikayla wasn't seven years old anymore. Every year she showed a little more disinterest in having to go off with him. Although it broke his heart a little, he knew that his daughter was growing up, doing her own thing. So this time, he agreed to enjoy his day off on his own (accompanied by a few guard friends). He decided to leave his girl in charge of the troublemakers. Although somewhat doubtful, he was sure that his daughter would not let anything crazy happen. If there was one thing Mikayla inherited from her father, it was her ability to regulate.

"Okay you two," Mason began his final lectures before his departure. "I do _not _want you guys getting into any trouble. I will only be gone for 24 hours and I would like to see the castle in one piece."

Brady and Boomer gave a chuckle. Trouble? Yeah, right. For all they knew, they were perfect angels.

"I have left Mikayla to be in charge while I'm away. I expect you two to follow her orders. She'll be watching your every move." Mason warned.

Brady nudged his brother playfully, "She'll especially like watching _my _moves..." Boomer gave a giggle at his brother's flirtatious comment. Brady couldn't help but express his love for Mikayla.

Mason threw a death glare at Brady. "And if you even _think _about messing with my daughter, I'll be making sure that you get to see _my _moves as well." He took out his machete and skillfully began cutting the air. It was uncomfortably close to the twins. The two backtracked away from the sharp object, horrified. Their scares didn't stop as they unexpectedly bumped into Mikayla, standing with her hands on her hips, ready to discipline. Boomer and Brady let out a yelp.

Mason put his machete away and greeted his daughter. "Mikayla are you sure you can handle being alone for one day?" His concern seemed to be growing as the time drew nearer for him to leave. Not only did he have to worry about Mikayla running palace security, but now he had to worry about the overly-friendly king and whatever intentions he had for his daughter.

"Yes, daddy! I'll be perfectly fine. I want you to stop worrying and enjoy your relaxing day off. _Please." _Mikayla assured her father. This had to be the hundredth time he asked her if she would be okay.

As much as she loved her father, she really didn't care for his protectiveness. So when she finally convinced him enjoy his day trip without her, she was thrilled when he finally agreed. It's not that she didn't enjoy spending time with her dad; she just needed to get some independence of her own. She hoped that this was her opportunity to show her dad that she could handle things on her own and maybe he'd start letting her out more. Although it didn't seem like it, Mikayla had a potentially active social life. If she weren't working with father or under house arrest, she'd be at the beach parties her friends threw.

Mason gave an apprehensive look then sighed in defeat. There was no way of convincing his daughter to come or put someone else in charge. The only thing left to do was, to gather his belongings and enjoy his day off. Before that opened his arms widely, needing one last hug.

"Aw, I'm going to miss you too, Mason!" Boomer exclaimed and met Mason's arms.

Brady also joined in. "Don't miss us too much when you're away!"

Mason rolled his eyes, gave a quick hug to the kings, and pushed them quickly. Mikayla gave a smiled and hugged her father. "Bye daddy! Have fun and you have nothing to worry about!" And with that, Mason was off.

"Bye guys! See you all tomorrow morning!" Mason waved and made his way out.

"So, I was thinking we could mattress sled down the flight of stairs…" Boomer suggested as one of their first antics.

"Good idea, Boom! Then after, we could turn the outside plaza into a slip-and-slide…but with chocolate!" Brady mentioned. Boomer gave a bright smile and high-fived his brother. This was going to be the best 24 hours of their luxurious new life.

Mikayla gave a stern look at the boys. "There will _not _be any mattress sledding or slipping and sliding whatsoever. This time tomorrow, my dad will be back, wanting to see a peaceful palace where you two haven't destroy everything. Please, please, _please _do _not _mess this up for me. This one of my only chances to prove to my dad that I can handle things on my own."

"Well you know Mikayla, we all know that you can handle a lot of things, but there's one thing you can't handle… All of _this_!" Brady shot back flirtatiously, alluding to his body. "BOOM, BOOM, POW!" He flexed his arms, hoping to allure the girl of his dreams.

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Now, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. So I've decided to have all of us go out! There's a festival and a farmer's market in the village to the east. There's gonna be games, rides, a petting zoo…"

"What the heck are we waiting for? Let's go!" Boomer interrupted. The boy was won over by the mention of petting zoo.

"Oh! So you're taking Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer to this festival and not even considering inviting, _me!_" Lanny slipped out of the door, arms folded. While he wanted more than anything to be alone in the palace thinking he were king, he'd much rather try and get the kings into another predicament, hopefully resulting with at least serious injury, thus making him the official king of Kingow.

"Aw, Cousin Lanny! You'd probably miss us too much for being gone for so long! Of course you can come with us!" Boomer suggested.

Lanny gave a half smile. His quick thinking allowed for him to come up with another conniving plan…

"Fine Lanny, you can come." Mikayla said in defeat.

Instead of taking care of two boys, now she was stuck with three. No matter. Nothing was going to ruin today. Not Boomer's impulsiveness, not Brady's repulsiveness, not Lanny's maliciousness.

"Now, to get to the east side of the island is not easy. The walk there takes quite some time. If we want to get there with enough time to enjoy the festivities, we need to leave soon." Mikayla addressed.

Brady let out a laugh. "And why can't we use the cruiser?"

"Because, if you don't remember, you two geniuses drove it in jagged rock terrain. The replacement tires won't be here for another two weeks." Mikayla reminded.

Boomer and Brady looked at each other and nodded. She was definitely right. The two did decide to take it out on a jungle ride and unfortunately wound up with four flat tires.

"Now with my calculations and your…athleticism…we should be there in two hours!" Mikayla exclaimed.

Boomer looked at her with wide eyes. "Two hours? Are you crazy? We're going to travel two hours to eat and dance? We can do that here!"

Mikayla gave a small smile. "Well Boomer, the crowning of Miss East Kinkow will be occurring and I do believe, that a few portions of the event will include swim suit, talent competition, and…oh! Beyonce dance-off."

"Like I said earlier, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"


	2. It All Falls Down

**Chapter 2: It all Falls Down**

Mikayla effortlessly walked down a rocky downward path. The girl was wearing sandals, at that. However, the kings struggled, holding each other tightly hoping they wouldn't fall and break a leg. Lanny followed behind them, secretly wishing they would break more than just legs. He decided to "accidentally" push the pair down the rocky incline. And of course, with such lack of balance, the two boys tumbled clumsily down. The boys felt the pain as they groggily stood up to brush themselves off. Mikayla gave a questioning look to Lanny to which he responded with an unknowing expression.

"We are alright! Just a little bruised and a lot battered, but all good! Brady here probably slipped or something." Boomer assured as he dusted of the dirt from his clothes. He eyed his twin, thinking he was the one to blame for their spill.

Brady panted heavily. "We must be pretty close, I feel like we've walking forever." He rubbed his pained knee.

Mikayla gave him a look of disbelief. "Um, your majesty, the palace is literally right there." She pointed at the castle grounds they were just on. This was going to be harder than she thought.

* * *

><p>An hour into the hike, the boys met their fair share of more hills and spills, along with annoying bugs, animal surprises, and unbearably warm weather. While Mikayla led the way, the boys walked in a zombie-like manner right behind her, feeling more and more fatigued. Mikayla grew tired of slowing down her pace to have the boys keep up. She decided that if the boys really wanted to get out of this jungle, they were going to have to push themselves to keep up with her. She maintained her pace, for if she didn't, they would all get to the festival when it ended. Lanny felt like this was their perfect opportunity to follow through with his plan, with Mikayla far ahead and the kings far behind, nothing was going to go wrong.<p>

"Man, I am so tired. We're barely halfway there! Who does Mikayla think she is? Dragging you two imbeciles –I mean impeccably rugged guys, around the jungle trail, when there are perfectly good shortcuts to get to the east side!" Lanny lied.

Lanny's plan was to lure the boys away from the guard girl and into an unknown cave. Knowing that many of Kinkow's caves were known for ambiguity, darkness, and danger, Lanny was confident that the cave in which he would lure the boys would be unsafe. He'd hope the boys would dwell deep enough to realize the dangers and their little rescuer Mikayla would be too late to save them.

"Yeah! I'd much rather the shorter route than tumbling down each and stepping on animal poop every ten minutes." Boomer agreed. If there was anything he wanted more, it was to find a faster way to the village.

The trio of boys stopped as Mikayla walked ahead, slicing the vines and leaves that blocked the trail, not realizing how far behind the boys really were. She gave up talking to the boys when the only responses she was given was them wheezing for help. "Follow me," Lanny said, pulling out a map. "There's a cave close by that will lead us directly to the East Kinkow Village! In fact, the cave is right over there."

"What about Mikayla? Wouldn't she get worried?" Brady inquired.

Lanny gave a sour expression. "Oh she's fine. I heard her mumbling earlier about how she likes guys who can beat her at things," Lanny laughed nervously, he needed to get his story straight. "So if you make it to the festival before she'll be all yours…"

Brady smiled brightly, "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Boomer shrugged his shoulders and they made their way. The cave was very close by and Lanny hurriedly led the boys. Mikayla finally put her machete away as cut down the last of the vines. When she looked back to check up on the boys, they were nowhere in sight. Mikayla began to panic, but luckily spotted the pair with her eagle eyes, nearing a mountainous area in close proximity.

"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING?" Mikayla yelled and ran her way toward the boys. She didn't look the least bit tired. The boys were already in the cave entrance.

Lanny had to improvise fast. "Well this is the shortcut! Just follow it and you'll be in the east village in no time. I'm gonna go check up on Mikayla! See ya!"

"What on earth are you doing? Why are you guys going into this cave?" Mikayla demanded answers now. In no time at all, Mikayla had trekked her way to where the boys were. She marched her way inside the cave, past the boys, blocking their further entrance. She put her hands on her hips furiously and that was enough for the boys to back up towards the opening.

"As much as we enjoy a scenic route, the only scenic things I really want to see are girls in bikinis! So Lanny told us to take a shortcut through this cave!" Boomer replied.

Mikayla shot a mean look at Lanny. "There is no cave shortcut to the village! And if there were it wouldn't be in a cave like this! A cave this well lit and comfortably decorated is signs of a mysterious luring cave. I've read about these in the Great Book. They're warm and inviting to travelers and then all of a sudden… UH OH!"

She was cut short by a loud rumbling. The cave entrance was closing off as rocks from the mountain started crumbling down. In desperation, everyone began making way out of the cave. Lanny's small physique allowed him to dash quickly and make his way through rocks. Boomer was lucky to be standing close to the entrance as he also made his way out. He dodged falling boulders and rolled to the ground to escape entrapment. Brady was also just as close to the entrance, but Mikayla wasn't. He was not going to get out without her. Instead of running toward the entrance, he ran toward Mikayla and grabbed her hand and ran. But it was too late. Mikayla was too far into the cave to even have a chance at making it out. She knew it from the moment the rocks started dropping. The rumbling shortly ceased and the once open cave entrance was now barricaded my rocks. There was definitely no way out.

Mikayla tried lifting a rock out of the way, but they were solidly stuck together. The rocks fit like puzzle pieces. If Mikayla could not lift these rocks, Brady was sure he had no chance.

"Are you guys okay?" Boomer yelled through the piles of rocks. Luckily they heard him.

"We're fine!" Brady called back. He attempted to lift one of the rocks out. No luck.

Mikayla, again, tried lifting the large boulders, hoping to break free. And despite her strength, nothing budged. "Boomer, Lanny, we need you guys to get help! The rocks are not budging at all! And whatever you do, _please _do not let this get to my dad."

Boomer looked around. There was no Lanny in sight. He assumed he already made his way back to get some sort of help. "Then what do I do?"

"Boomer you need to go back and find The Great Book. There's a section on mysterious caves and there should be some of solution to this! Can you make your way back, get the book, and come back to help us?" Mikayla had only wished she had read up more on caves like this. Then she wouldn't have to rely on a less-than-reliable source, such as Boomer.

Boomer knew he had to get his brother and Mikayla out. "Yes, yes, and yes! I'll be back before you know it!" And there, he left back to the palace grounds –that is, if he remembered where it was. He luckily saw little Lanny running through some bushes.

"Lanny!" He called out.

Boomer ran towards his cousin and luckily caught up with him. Lanny had no other choice, but to meet up with the other brother. His plan, yet again, failed. Although, he took it as a fifty percent success rate, having one king trapped and having Mikayla there instead was just a bonus. He smiled deceivingly, as he figured out another way to get rid of the remaining king.

"Um, so how do I get back to castle from here?" Boomer asked. He already knew that with his sense of direction, he'd probably end up in Hawaii.

Lanny mischievously replied, "Well you want to take the dirt path on the right, make two lefts at the fork trees, climb up the grassy knoll, make another right, left, past the waterfall on the right, and through a straight jungle path. This, I guarantee, is the fastest way back to the temple." He scribbled it all down on the map he carried and handed it to Boomer. What Boomer didn't know was that he was leading him directly into Tarantula People Territory.

"Well aren't you going to come?" Boomer asked.

Surprised, Lanny made up another lame excuse, "Oh well I was going toward the east village to get some more immediate help! Yeah, that's it! And since my cave shortcut was uh, cut short, I guess I'm just going to have to take the normal way!"

Boomer agreed, "Good idea! I'm pretty lucky to have a cousin as helpful as you!" Before he could further compliment the boy, Lanny quickly ran the opposite direction. _Wow, that little guy sure wants to help them out, he's running like he's on fire! I need a mindset like Lanny! _Boomer thought to himself. He began his trek back to the palace, not realizing he was headed to some unknown destination, instead of the castle.


	3. Stuck with You

**Chapter 3: Stuck with You**

Hi everyone! Sorry for the very delayed third chapter. The past few weeks have been very busy for me. I just had my final exams for my classes as well as moving out of my apartment and into a new one.

Thank you all for the comments and I'm glad you all like it so far. I hope you guys all watched the season premiere. All the Brady/Mikayla moments got me really giddy lol. But I'm really excited for this season :) Hope you like the third chapter!

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><p>"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!" Brady rocked back and forth as he hugged his knees tightly. He forgot all the courage he built up in an attempt to save Mikayla and spent the last few minutes panicking.<p>

Mikayla, on the other hand, was busy exploring the cave. "Brady, this cave has all the necessities we need to survive. Like I was explaining earlier, these are the Mysterious Hospitable Caves. I have no idea why Lanny could have sent you two here, but if we look around, there'll be water, food, and the rocks here are comfortable enough to sleep on…"

Brady looked her way. "Well I'm so glad we this cave provides us with survival materials, but can you explain why it decided to trap us inside?"

"According the Great Book, caves like these have a tendency of trapping people inside to experience all its nurturing qualities. The only way out is the solution listed in the book. So I guess we're stuck here until we get help." Mikayla said.

"Great, you and I are stuck in a cave that likes to give everything to its inhabitants except for freedom." Brady exasperated.

Brady's eyes widened. Just before he almost lost hope in his survival, he became revived with the realization that he was _stuck _with Mikayla. Maybe being trapped in an unknown cave located in the middle of the jungle wouldn't be such a bad thing, just as long as it were just him and Mikayla. He got lost in another reverie about the gorgeous guard girl.

"Brady! Can you please stop fantasizing about what you want to name our kids and help we collect some fresh water over here!" Mikayla furiously demanded. She was kneeling facing a cave wall and what looked to be water flow from it into a small stream.

"H-how d-did you know?" This girl was unbelievable.

Mikayla looked at him sternly. "Just another wild guess. I've gotten pretty good at getting to know you and your… creepy ways." she replied.

Brady made his way toward Mikayla. She filled the two canteens she brought along with some water spewing through a small hole in the cave. Instead of commenting on how unrealistic it was, collecting drinkable water from a cave wall, he was still very much impressed with Mikayla's mind reading abilities.

"Well since you're on the topic," Brady started, "I was thinking of Brody, Brandy, Braden, and naming our twin boy and girl, Brad and Kayla, so they could be known as Bradkayla together, in honor of both of our names…"

"Um, EW…" Mikayla retorted. She literally jumped ten feet away from the king. The thought of creating a family with Brady made her stomach twist into a thousand knots.

"Well, I personally think it beats out Mikbrady, because it sounded more like an Irish fast-food meal option to me…" Brady continued.

Looking into Mikayla's eyes now would have been the equivalent to looking at a Gorgon's. She could have killed the king with that stare. "Can we _not _talk about kids' names? And for the record, five kids is way passed my limit and who said all them had to be named after you, and I'm just going to stop rambling on now…" She caught herself thinking about her potential future family. It grossed her out, almost to the point where she could have barfed into the clean stream of water.

"And that's where you're wrong. I named one of our kids after you…" Brady happily replied. The girl of his dreams was potentially interested in being a part of his future family.

"Just help me collect some water before I make you drink those rocks over there." Mikayla snapped back.

_Anything for you Mikayla, _Brady thought and began helping the guard girl with water collecting.

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><p>Meanwhile, Boomer had been trying to make his way through the jungle, but was having no luck whatsoever.<p>

_Now where did Lanny say to turn? _Boomer thought to himself. _It's funny; Lanny circled the area with the tarantulas on it. _

The map was no help at all. He began following a small dirt path hoping it would lead him to some sort of civilization. There was loud noise and music playing. He was growing fatigued as he made his way. He began trailing toward what he hoped would be home, but was caught by surprise. A large sign that read, "Welcome to East Kinkow!" greeted the king as he made his way through a large bush. Ironically, he made his way to the festival instead.

Boomer crossed the entrance and was welcomed with performers and celebrators dressed in colorful attire dancing to upbeat island music. The king smiled and began joining in with the festivities.

A vibrantly dressed citizen pointed at the dancing king and exclaimed, "Holy Kinkow! It's his majesty, King Boomer, at our East Kinkow celebration!" This citizen bowed down and the rest of the celebrants followed as well.

"King Boomer, in honor of your arrival at our festival, we humbly serve to entertain you. And we will start with a conga line led by you."

Boomer smiled at his peasants' praise and service. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's conga!" Boomer swayed his hips and danced his way through the village as the rest of the citizens followed. Amidst all this excitement, Boomer had seemingly forgotten all about his quest to get his brother and Mikayla out of the cave.

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><p>Mikayla had managed to create a fire and began roasting what looked to be potatoes. The cave was generously filled with them as well as other fruits and vegetables. In the time she first started collecting water with Brady, she gathered enough food for the two of them to survive the night, built two makeshift beds out of surprisingly comfortable rocks, created two dividers –one for the designated bathroom and another separating her bed and Brady's, constructed a couch, as well as sewing two blankets made out of plants she found hidden in the cave. She had to keep herself busy before she went crazy with anxiety. Luckily the king had refrained from making any flirtatious remarks for he had knocked out in his bed after he began panicking again. As she turned a potato on its other side to cook, she noticed the king starting to wake up.<p>

Brady took a good three minutes to stretch his now rested body. "What a great catnap, I can't believe how rested I feel in such a short amount of time…" Brady said in between yawns.

Mikayla gave him a look of disbelief. "Your highness, it's been a good five hours." She said behind her gritted teeth. She removed the potato from the flame and placed it on a rock conveniently shaped like plate. She handed the plate to the king. "Here. It's dinner."

Brady took the plate and saw a roasted potato, mushrooms, carrot sticks, half of a coconut, chopped pineapple, and a handful of nuts. For a weird, sketchy-looking, mysterious island cave, it grew some of the most familiar foods. He took a seat next to Mikayla who had begun eating her plateful of prepared food. "You know," he started, "You really are the perfect woman. While I get my much needed king sleep, you're making our little home a little more livable and had time to get cook dinner. Although the potato is a little undercooked, you should maybe put it in the flame fore five more minutes…"

Mikayla's eyes could not have shown any more annoyance. "Kidding. I was only kidding." Brady explained. "Thanks, Mikayla. You, you're really something. You made an entire living quarter _and _a bomb dinner."

Mikayla's angered expression changed into a smile. She felt like this was the first time Brady had genuinely complimented her and not by genuinely, she meant that his praises did not have to deal with her hot looks, how hot she looked do something, or how anything she did made her look hot.

"Well thank you, King Brady, and even though I am pretty proud at myself for creating an entire home in the span of five hours, there's just one thing that isn't right." Mikayla said.

Brady's eyes widened. Was this the moment Mikayla would finally admit some sort of affection for him? Was she going to tell him that the only thing that wasn't right was the absence of his arms around her? "And what's that?" He coyly said.

"Hmm, maybe that it's been about five hours since this cave decided to crumble down on us and Lanny or your brother are nowhere in sight…"

"Well obviously since there are a bunch of rocks blocking us off from the real world," Brady would have continued but he caught the now permanent death stare that graced Mikayla's beautiful face. "Again, I'm kidding. I'm sorry Mikayla for taking this a little too light-heartedly. But, I really think you should relax a little bit." Despite his comments he a little worried that his brother and cousin hadn't arrived to save them. But because of his "twinstincts", he knew Boomer was doing his job to get help. He believed in his brother, not knowing he was celebrating in the East Village as if his brother and friend were stuck in a barricaded cave.

Mikayla was beyond stressed out. The thought of her father finding out she and the king were missing was eating her alive. He was never going to put her in charge again and then he was going to keep a closer eye on her too. She'd be the only sixteen-year-old to have the social life of an eight-year-old. "I really wish I could lighten up, but if my dad finds out I screwed up again. I'll never have the chance to experience life as a teenage girl. I'll be put under overprotective lockdown forever."

Brady scooted closer toward Mikayla. "Mikayla, it's not your fault we're in this mess. _You _didn't screw up. It's because of me, Boomer, and Lanny, mostly Lanny, but if we do end up getting in trouble with your dad, we will take full responsibility, and again, it's mostly Lanny's fault. It's not your fault that us boys are unruly and never listen. But for now we're just going to have to put of faith in Boomer and Lanny." His attempt at calming Mikayla down had worked. Her tense shoulders finally lowered and the grip on her plate had finally loosened.

"You're right King Brady. I just need to calm down and stop worrying." She let out a long breath. She got a glimpse of Brady's eyes staring at her. His concerned expression had shifted into a warm smile. She felt her lips curve in a warm smile in response, but immediately stopped smiling at the realization of this "cute" moment. She was definitely not supposed to act this way toward King Brady, at least that's what she always told herself. "Umm, I'm just going to sleep this off for a bit. Building a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen really tires out a girl. Thanks Brady."

"You're welcome," Brady replied as she made her way to her bed. _What's wrong with you Brady? You had the perfect opportunity to get closer to Mikayla and you let her go to sleep…_

Brady continued with his dinner. He secretly hoped that they wouldn't be found soon.

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><p>Comments appreciated! Sorry if it's sounding a little rushed. The next few chapters will be full of MikaylaBrady development :)

Teaser: Chapter 4: Getting to Know You


	4. Getting to Know You

Sorry for the delay! Thanks for all the comments! Here's Chapter 4, hope you all like it :) Reviews appreciated

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Getting to Know You<strong>

Mikayla rolled around to the other side of her bed for what seemed to be the millionth time. In the time she headed to bed after dinner, Mikayla did not get one minute of the slumber she was hoping to get. Although more calm than she was a few hours ago, her mind still lingered at the thought of her angry father finding out she put herself and the kings in danger.

On the other side of the divider, Brady was wide awake and grossly kept himself preoccupied by creating odd noises with his body. His entertainment seemed to be working as he giggled every so often for the past hour. His latest endeavor was playing the alphabet song.

"BRADY!" Mikayla got up from out of bed and forcefully pushed the divider that separated them away. She caught a glimpse of the king with his hand under his armpit. His amused smile instantly faded away at the sight of the angry girl. "It's been three hours and your brother or Lanny aren't here yet, so I decided to try and sleep it off to clear my mind and it really isn't helping that you're conducting an orchestra with the disgusting sounds coming from your body!"

Brady was going to blurt out a suggestive comment at her last statement but decided against it, for fear of the wrath known as Mikayla. For a girl who seemed to always have some sort of anxiety in her life caused by the kings, Mikayla still had a beautiful head of hair that did not gray or fall off. Brady quickly thought of a plan to help Mikayla relax more.

"Well since we're both wide awake, I guess we have no other choice but to keep our mind off this situation with a game!" Brady suggested. He gestured for Mikayla to join him on his bed by patting an open space very close to him. Mikayla decline his offer with her now seemingly signature rolling of the eyes. She sat on her bed facing the king, now that the divider was no longer separating the two.

_What is he trying to pull? _Mikayla thought to herself.

"So back in Chicago, on Friday nights, some girls and guys would throw parties that Boomer and I were never invited to, and played this game called, Twenty Questions. Of course, we heard about all of this through the grapevine and picked up the rules pretty quick." Brady stated. It was true, the pair of twins were never formally invited to the parties their classmates through, but heard about the little activities they played.

Mikayla raised an eyebrow. "Twenty Questions?" was a little apprehensive toward his suggestion. Knowing Brady, she thought it would be some childish game involving odd noises or a tea set or something of that matter.

"The rules of the game are easy," Brady began, "Each of us asks a total of twenty questions. You ask ten and I ask ten. And they can be any question, and I mean **any **question. There's no boundary on how embarrassing, personal, or confidential it can be. Whatever you ask has to be answered fully. No simple answers like 'yes' or 'no' because there's no fun in that. Uh, there are no repeat questions cause that isn't fun either and you can't pass or plead the fifth or whatever that means." Brady chuckled. This would finally be the perfect opportunity to play such a teenaged taboo game. He and Boomer tried once to play this game, but there really is no fun when you already know what the other person was going to say. Now, the chance came for him to finally play, and what better way to play than with, the girl of his dreams, Mikayla. He was not afraid to admit that even though he was madly in love with the girl in front of him, he still had a lot to learn about her.

Mikayla felt a little timid after hearing Brady's explanation. Like Brady, she herself never attended these so-called boy-girl parties because of her father's overprotective nature. So it felt a little odd allowing herself to spill the secrets to some guy who she found to be a little creepy at times. But how bad would it be? After all "some guy" was just Brady. Mikayla had already done a pretty solid job at keeping Brady's paws off of her. And she secretly did want to play this game of twenty questions for it would be one of her only chances to actually engage in some real hormone-driven teenage recreational activity that she had yet to experience. "Okay. I'm in. So who goes first?

Brady responded with lightning speed, "You just did by asking that question, so I guess it's my turn."

Mikayla's jaw dropped. She could not believe she was outsmarted by the king she stated as being dumber than a bag of hammers. "That's not fair! You cannot be serious!"

"Explained it clearly in the rules, sweetie. Just because you've got a pretty face doesn't mean I can bend the rules for it. Sorry." Brady shrugged, slightly proud of his quick wit; he'd never put Mikayla in her place before. It felt… good to say the least. Her reaction was quite priceless.

Mikayla crossed her arms with infuriation. She was still in disbelief that Brady was right and she was wrong –something that had never really occurred in the their time of knowing one another. "Fine. Ask away, my king." She sarcastically replied. The bitterness in her voice could not have been anymore apparent. But of course, Brady took it as a reply of blissful respect; he loved it when Mikayla referred to him as _her _king.

Brady twiddled his fingers. What would be the perfect question to ask? He gave it some good thought, choosing the right words. After a good minute or two, Brady's mouth curved into a smile as he folded his arms with pride. "With an answer of either King Boomer or the very adorable, yet still incredibly hot, all around amazing King Brady, which King are you more attracted to?" Brady's incredibly detailed question made would sure to give the king the answer he wanted.

Mikayla on the other hand, had to stop herself from asking "Are you kidding me?" allowed. She had already wasted her first question. Maybe she had underestimated Brady's cunning nature entirely. The guy was playing this game like a pro.

She sighed heavily. There was no way out of this question whatsoever. She thought about it for a moment. While she did like King Boomer's humor and confidence, she found herself more drawn to King Brady. She reminded herself that it was only for the sole purpose of the question asked that she was "attracted" to Brady. She reasoned that is was probably on account of his persistent presence. If Brady was not with Boomer he was always near Mikayla. Despite his somewhat stalker tendencies, she thought that the two became pretty close since their arrival. And as much as she did not even want to mentally admit it, Brady was the more attractive one in her eyes.

"." She murmured quickly. Her response was almost incomprehensible.

Brady cupped his ear. "You might want to repeat that because I just heard a whole lot of gibberish. Come on, you can tell me."

Mikayla took a deep breath. "I am more attracted to King Brady, the adorable and hot and all around amazing guy, blah, blah, blah." She managed to utter the words through her clenched teeth. Although forced into answering the question, she really did find Brady to be the more attractive twin. Brady had perfectly cut, dark hair. He had hazel eyes and when the light hit it right there really were golden flecks that shined. Brady had the most effortless smile too, and by effortless it meant he didn't have to try hard to actually look happy, say for instance, Lanny. She felt her cheeks flush with color with the realization that she was getting lost in Brady's appearance. So this what Brady did on a regular basis? She shook off the current thoughts running through her head and regained focus.

Brady was going to ask her about the change in color in her face and realized that it would have been a question counting towards the little game they were playing. He still could not help but wonder if it was that bad to say he was the more attractive brother.

"Your question." Brady stated.

"Oh right. Hmm, let's see. Since I wasted my first question, I need to make this good." This was a little harder than she thought. Since he inexplicitly embarrassed her with his question, what better way than to embarrass him. "I'm going to be a little typical and ask you, what's your most embarrassing moment?"

This time it was Brady's turn to change colors. He was just forced into spilling the most humiliating moment of his life to the one girl he had been trying to impress since the moment he laid eyes on her. He fidgeted as he thought back to that particular moment he would never speak of.

"Come on! Stop stalling!" Mikayla humorously said. She mischievously smiled at the king. All the nervousness he built up thinking about his embarrassing moment had been replaced with the nervousness that Mikayla made him feel. Why did she have to look even cuter with that teasing expression?

Brady felt his jaw drop and his pink cheeks burn red. He managed to snap back to the reality of revealing the awkwardly embarrassing moment. He sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll tell you. Only because I have to. And you have to **swear **you won't tell anybody."

Mikayla mockingly raised her right hand. "I swear."

The king let out a loud sigh again. "Okay. It was in the seventh grade. Boomer and I were at the community pool. And well back in America you had to shower off after swimming in the pool cause of all the chemicals and whatnot. So I get in the shower in get cleaned off. And my genius self didn't bring a towel. When I finished my swimming trunks were nowhere in sight. So I either had to walk around naked to get leave the community pool or wear the only available garment in sight… that was a short sundress. To this day, I still feel kind of bad for stealing some poor girl's clothes, but that didn't stop me from embarrassing myself any less when I walked out of the community center. Turns out I had used the girl's restroom to shower and change. So, my pre-teen self in a woman's dress awkwardly left the room with a number of other girls staring at me. To make matters worse, Aunt Nancy met me outside and well, when we got home, we all had the most awkward conversation ever…"

Mikayla had literally turned red at the end of his story. She was literally sprawled out on her bed holding her stomach in pain from all the laughter. Brady exchanged his version of her death stare. At least she seemed to finally forget about the stress she had about her father. Despite the glare he tried to give her, he ended up smiling.

He giggled, "Okay, okay, let's all settle down now, story's over." His attempt at controlling her loud laughing burst had failed, for Mikayla was still roaring over on her bed. He playfully threw his pillow at her to calm her down and successfully aimed it toward her head. Mikayla was rudely interrupted with a surprise pillow bomb and in no time at all went from joyous laughter to intense anger.

"I'm sorry, don't hurt me!" Brady pleaded. His arms immediately shielded himself from whatever damaged Mikayla could have caused him.

Mikayla rolled her eyes and regained her composure. She wondered where all this newfound bravery came from. First, Brady had attempted to save her from the crumbling cave and now he had the nerve to actually hit her. She would have painfully flipped him as a response to pillow launching. "I guess it's your turn now."

Brady had already had the perfect embarrassing question to counter the humiliation he was feeling. "Hmm, since you know something embarrassing about me, I guess I'm going to have to know something embarrassing about you." Brady let out a little laugh. "Mikayla, what's the longest you've gone without taking a shower?"

Mikayla exchanged a horrified look at the king. She could not believe he wanted to know something so disgusting. "That's sick!"

"Yes and quite embarrassing for you. Spill." Yet again, Brady was on top of his game. It was his second question in a row where Mikayla was beyond uncomfortable.

Brady of course had the only intention of embarrassing Mikayla. He already knew that whatever answer she gave him was probably not going to be as bad anything he could have answered. Most importantly it would not make him think any different of her. He just wanted to get even with the girl who now knew about his cross-dressing catastrophe.

"Fine. You had better not tell anybody about this. Not even Boomer. Promise me." Mikayla stood up angrily, grabbed her machete close by and held it close to the king's face. "You better swear."

Despite being threatened with a sharp object, Brady found this little moment to be quite romantic in a playful "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" kind of way. "I promise Mikayla."

Mikayla had backed away from the slightly terrified king and sat back down on her respective bed. "Fine. It was back when I was 10. To become an official royal warrior on Kinkow you must survive a final test in the jungle. Seventy-two hours of jungle survival." Brady gave her a confused expression, which prompted her to explain her warrior training. She went off on a little tangent about warrior training and how she was the only ten year old to complete training and how she was top of her class. She finally finished her explanation and continued to answer Brady's question.

"So for three horribly exhausting days, I had to live in the dark depths of the jungle, with no shower. Yup. Three days. Afterwards, I spent the next three days in a bath tub." Mikayla shuddered. She never wanted anybody, let alone, a male, to know her hygiene stories.

"Three days, that's nothing compared to…" Brady began but stopped after realizing how gross his anecdote was starting to sound. It was true. He thought nothing less of Mikayla, especially how tame her lack of showering sounded compared to how long he and Boomer have gone without bathing. He just liked seeing her squirm with shame. "I guess even incredibly hot girls have some dirty little secrets." He gave a playful wink to which she replied with another shudder.

"Okay I propose that we refrain from anymore embarrassing stories because the next sixteen questions will probably just be about trying to humiliate each other." Mikayla suggested.

Brady agreed. "A proposal from Mikayla, you know already know I'll say yes."

Mikayla rolled her eyes at his cheesy comment. "My turn then. So, how long have you been playing guitar and singing? I mean it's one of the only things you're really good at." Brady raised an eyebrow at her. Mikayla gave him an awkward smile. "Err, so yeah, guitar…" Those were the only words she managed to muster, hoping the king would forget her last comment.

"Well. I've been playing for about 5 years. See Aunt Nancy had signed Boomer and I for after school activities. Boomer took art classes and I wanted to play the guitar. And ever since I picked up the six string, I've been in love with it ever since. I guess it was one of the only things I was really naturally good at. As for singing, I guess that's just another natural talent I've always had. I mean I used to keep it secret for a while, but now I don't. I guess music is something that I'm just so passionate about." Brady answered. He went on a little longer to explain his first music recital and how he fainted because he was so nervous. He talked about how much he knew that girls found musicians incredibly attractive. He went on about how he sometimes dreamed of playing a sold out concert. At the end of all his stories, Mikayla realized how important music really was to him.

Mikayla gave him a warm smile. This was side of Brady she rarely saw. "You know," she started, "You should play music more often. Your last performance was quite the crowd pleaser." She was referring back to Harvest Festival impromptu performance after he and Boomer had made up he had lied to his brother about his horrible singing voice.

Brady bashfully smiled at her suggestion. "Well you were part of the crowd and I pleased you." He gave her a wink.

Before she could shoot him a comeback insult, a loud rumbling noise had come from deep down the cave. Brady freaked out, scared out of his mind. He immediately shot up from his bed and into Mikayla's, hoping the guard girl would protect him. He unintentionally hid behind her, hands on her shoulder and his head ducked down. "What the heck was that?"

The mysterious noise had ceased before Mikayla could grab her machete. She figured it was just some natural cave noises. She calmed down to realize that Brady was shuddering in fear very, very close to her. She felt his shallow breathing on her back. She turned to face the cowering king. "That was your next question and please get off of me."

Brady was surprised Mikayla had caught on to this game. A few questions she had been put in her place and now she had gotten even with him. He nervously detached himself from Mikayla and allowed some space between them.

"Touché, Mikayla." He congratulated. He gave her a smile and playfully punched her shoulder.

She could not help but giggle at her one-upping skills. She was back on top. She was finally beginning to relax and actually enjoy her time trapped in this cave, with Brady.


	5. Opening Up

**A/N**: First and foremost, I want to apologize for the the extensive hiatus. This is my first fanfic, and I was really just writing this as I go. With school and life just happening, I kind of forgot about this :( But no worries, I'm back and ready to complete this story. I'm going to try and update this story once a week, if not earlier. Thanks again for all the comments and feel free to leave some more!

For those of you don't want to reread the first four chapters, here's a small summary: Mason leaves Mikayla in charge of the boys while he's on a vacation. She hoped to take them to a festival to enjoy their day, but thanks to Lanny, she and Brady end up stuck in a cave. They enlist Boomer to get them out, but the king becomes to preoccupied with other festivities and forgets. Meanwhile Mikayla and Brady try to make the best out of their situation in the cave and end up playing a game of 20 questions.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 Opening Up:<strong>

"And the winner of Miss East Kinkow is…" The sound of rumbling tribal drums beat loud as the crowd waited in anticipation. King Boomer stood proudly with trophy and crown in hand. Upon arrival to East Kinkow, the citizens had persuaded him to be the special guest judge. Of course this was an opportunity that could not be passed.

The announcer had opened the sealed envelope. "Number fourteen!" The spotlight shined brightly as the winner was called. Her shocked expression had turned into tears of joy as she made her way toward the king. The beauty was crowned and posed with the smiling Boomer for pictures.

"This is the best day of my life," She told Boomer. "Winning Miss East Kinkow and meeting one half the twin kings! It'd be so cool of King Brady were here too!"

Boomer's wide grin went into an immediate poker face. _King… Brady? _He thought. _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. _He had completely forgotten about his mission to save his brother and Mikayla.

Boomer gave a nervous chuckle. "Yup. King Brady. It's getting really late. I gotta go! Now."

It was more than late. It had to be around 1:00 AM. Boomer had spent a little too much time at the festival. He forgot all about the urgency he had to rescue the pair. Of course, he was partially to blame for extending the Beyonce dance-off contest an extra one hour and adding a few of his own questions to the question and answer portion. How none of the locals asked him about his other half was beyond him. However, he did feel a little sense of pride that his eastern Kinkow peasants thought of him as the sole king.

Boomer made his way to what looked to be a village official. "Hi. Thanks for the hospitality and all, but do you happen to have a copy of 'The Great Book' close by? It's kind of an emergency."

The official gave him a frown. "I'm sorry, my king but the only copy is yours."

If there was no copy in East Kinkow, the only way to get one was going back to the castle. "Since you don't conveniently have a copy here, do you have any minions that can carry me on rickshaw back to the castle to get my copy and then to an uncharted cave all before sunrise?"

The official gave a confused look. "Um, I'm sure we'll be able to." Still puzzled, the man gathered a few burly men and explained the requests set forth by the king.

_I really hope that Lanny helped them… Never mind I just hope they aren't too mad at me when I get them out of there. I don't know if I should feel more sorry for Mikayla enduring Brady's lame jokes or feel more sorry for my brother epically failing at trying to impress her… _Boomer thought.

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><p>Surprisingly, Brady was comfortably lying at the foot of Mikayla's makeshift bed without so much of a complaint coming from the girl. Following his little scare after hearing the mysterious noise, Brady unintentionally remained by her side, rather than returning to his own bed. She spent a while poking fun at the king for being so frightened. Of course, he tried reasoning his way out of it, saying that it could have been real danger.<p>

"Okay Mikayla, your turn." Brady stated, as he lay perpendicular to the small bed, his feet on the ground and knees bent. Mikayla was seated with her arms behind her for support as she thought of another question. She decided to extol some more secrets from him.

She turned her head toward Brady. "Have you ever taken anything of mine?"

Immediately, Brady shot up from his position and sat upright. "Psh, no. That is just creepy." He flatly said.

Mikayla did not buy his answer one bit and raised a doubtful eyebrow. She could see right through him. Brady was never really the best liar and when he was able to get away with it, it did not take him long to come clean with the truth, especially since it was Mikayla.

Brady avoided eye contact with the girl and answered, "Besides from taking your breath away every time I flex these bad boys, BOOM. BOOM. POW." He flexed his biceps. "I may have taken a few things from your room."

Was she hearing this correctly? Brady was a creepy kleptomaniac freak and he had broken entrance into her private room. Her jaw dropped and she folded her arms, firmly waiting to hear his explanation for this.

"So that time you caught Boomer in your room, well I was hiding underneath your bed. You see we were trying to retrieve that note I wrote and it just ended really badly. Anyways, after some intense kicking, I was too weak to slide my way out from under your bed so I kinda stayed there for a while." Brady began.

Mikayla gave him a very stern look. She could not believe he not only intruded her only personal space in the castle, but he had secretly spent a good amount of his time hiding there.

Brady brought his hands up in defense, "Before you machete me to death, you left your room shortly after Boomer did. I wasn't creeping on you from under your bed. So after finally recovering a little bit, I sorta took a little tour of your room again and I kinda took that little stuffed zebra from your bed…"

Mikayla's eyes narrowed. "I thought I lost that!"

"I couldn't help it. Zebras are my sixth favorite animal and it smelled like your hair." Brady responded. He gave an awkward smile. "Sorry."

Mikayla let out a deep breath in defeat. "Just… keep it."

Brady gave a proud smile. Mikayla had given him a personal belonging of hers. Granted, he stole it first, but it did not matter one bit to him.

She almost regretted asking that question. Way to invade a girl's privacy and take her stuffed animals. The kings were really something. Luckily her predicament right now of being stuck in a cave was bigger than worrying about Brady's sticky fingers and entry breaking.

"You're up." Mikayla said.

Brady began tossing a rock in the air, thinking of his next question. He decided to ask something a little more personal. After all the main purpose of the game was to get to know each other.

"So, who's your best friend?" Brady thought it was the perfect ice breaking personal question.

Brady never knew much of Mikayla's personal life. She was usually stuck with guard duties or was usually under the watchful eye of her father. There were only a few other times where he even met Mikayla's peers. He hoped to delve more into Mikayla's social life if he really wanted to get to know her.

"Hmm, my best friend. To be honest, my king, I don't have a best friend. Of course, I have plenty of close friends, but I don't have that one friend to call my best friend and vice versa. You see I've always been a different kid. When I was six, I could already fight off Tarantula People. While everyone was playing in the jungle, I was training for combat. So, I was never really around people my age outside of school, more specifically hanging around girls. I guess it's also on account of being under my dad's watchful eye so long. I rarely went social outings back then so I guess I can blame that for my lack of a best friend. But it's no big deal to me, even though it would be nice to have someone to talk like, like…" Mikayla said.

"How we're talking now." Brady had finished her sentence.

Mikayla gave a little giggle. "Yeah. It's nice."

Mikayla was surprised that he had finished her sentence perfectly. She was also surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. She had always thought of Brady as just her king, sometimes as the uncooperative child she had to babysit, but Brady was actually a really close friend of hers. She never really had moments like this with her friends that were guys, or any friends actually.

"But, yes. I don't have an officially appointed best friend. Maybe one day, though." Mikayla said hopefully.

Brady responded with a comforting smile too. "Of course you'll have a best friend, Mikayla. You're awesome. You're sweet and friendly, when you aren't mad of course. And you know how to get a friend out of trouble. I mean look at how many times you've saved mine and Boomer's as–…"

"Okay!" Mikayla interrupted. "Let's get onto my question! But, thanks Brady. That's really nice of you to say that."

Brady felt himself blush. Mikayla did it again. She never failed to make the king feel nervous. He found himself staring hopelessly in love at the beauty sitting next to him. Brady did this quite often. He was always getting lost in her eyes. They were just too darn beautiful. She was just beautiful. Mikayla's beauty was different from any of the other girls he was usually attracted to. She was the epitome of exotic. Mikayla had long, voluminous, shiny brown locks that rested perfectly on her shoulders; her eyes were mesmerizing, they were almond-shaped and of a light brown color that sparkled in whatever light was near; her skin was flawlessly smooth and tan and…

"BRADY!" Mikayla snapped at him, finally waking him from his reverie.

Brady was startled by her interjection and impulsively blurted out of surprise, "Your skin's so soft!" Brady bit his lip in embarrassment. "Uh, I didn't say that…"

Mikayla felt herself tense up with discomfort. "Umm, okay. I asked you my question twice."

"Sorry, I, um, got lost in your eyes again." Brady admitted.

Mikayla paused for a little bit. "Well, actually, now that I think about it, I think my question is a little too personal. I'll think up another…"

"No!" Brady interrupted. "Just ask it. I won't take it the wrong way or anything. And any question asked has to be answered."

Mikayla readjusted herself to face Brady. She looked down at the ground and away before finally looking him in the eye to ask. "So… do… you still think about your parents?"

Brady was taken aback by her question. He was not expecting this at all. By personal, he did not thin she would delve into his family life. He let the words sink in for a bit. His parents.

"Sorry. I mean if you don't want to answer I would totally understand!" Mikayla apologetically said.

"No, it's alright okay! And yes, I do still think about them. I mean I'm always going to think about them. They died when we were really, really young. So, it's not like I really knew them. But, I always wonder how things would have been if they were still here. I know for a fact, that my parents were great people. They were king and queen of a great island. And well, I always think about them and how they would be so proud looking at their two sons who are following in their footsteps… minus almost leading this island to its doom every now and then." Brady let out chuckle.

Mikayla was intently listening at the king. He had never been sounded so sincere.

"But yeah, even though they aren't here anymore, I'm still always doing trying to make them proud… as cheesy as that sounds…"

"No!" Mikayla blurted out. "I mean that's not cheesy at all. It's actually really sweet. I've never seen this side of you."

Brady smiled. "Thanks. But to sum all of this up, I do think about them. It's not as sad as you'd imagine it to be. Sometimes it's actually nice. Remember when I suggested that Boomer and I join fight school? Well, I knew I wanted to join right away once Mason said our dad was the top fighter. I never even told Boomer this, but after beating Atog the second time in the arena, all I thought about was my dad smiling down on us. I really just hope that all the screw ups that Boomer and I have caused are just ways to show my mom and dad, that we really are learning and trying to be the best rulers my parents wanted us to be."

Brady gave another warm smile at Mikayla, who looked to be very moved by Brady's response. It was true. She never had seen this side of Brady. She always expected some mockery of an answer or a way to avoid the question. It was nice to know that Brady was comfortable enough to be so truthful with her. She realized that she was getting lost in daydream… again. The more she got to know Brady, the more she was starting to learn that Brady was not all jokes and giggles. He was something else.

"So, if it's alright with you, my question is a little personal as well. But, what happened to your mom." Brady asked.

Mikayla felt uneasiness in her stomach. She knew one day the kings would eventually ask about the absence of Mama Makoola. Mikayla repeated the question multiple times in her mind and became deep in thought. She had not realized that she had spent quite some time trying to find the best way to answer the question.

"It's alright, if you don't want to answer Mikayla, I understand." Brady said. Mikayla finally gathered her composure once Brady had spoke.

Mikayla shook her head. "No. It's okay. Sorry, I was just thinking of the best way to answer. This may be a little long, but here goes." Mikayla took a deep breath and exhaled. "My dad and mom both met when they were in village school. Daddy was already training to become a warrior and part of the royal staff of the castle, all while attending school. And my mom was the most beautiful girl in all of Kinkow," Mikayla said, her eyes gleaming as she described her mother.

_That explains where Mikayla gets her gorgeous looks from... _Brady thought.

Mikayla continued. "Anyways, they were village school sweethearts and once they graduated, my dad began to work full time for the monarchy. My mother went to college to study to become a teacher. Years later, my dad became the newest royal advisor while my mother became a teacher at the village school I go to now. Immediately after that, my mom and dad finally decided to get married. No engagement. No bridal showers or bachelor parties. Just a few weeks of simple planning and bam! They were married."

Mikayla smiled as she saw King Brady's joyous expression as he listened to her tell her story. "You know, my dad told me that both your parents were at their wedding." Brady flashed her a genuine smile. Mikayla gave a small chuckle. "My dad also said that you two were technically there also. Brady gave a very puzzled expression.

Mikayla giggled a little louder this time. "I mean, when your mom was at the ceremony, she was already pregnant with you two!" Brady gave an even bigger smile upon learning this. _How about that? _He thought. _Boom and I were there for Mason's wedding. _He also guessed that this in fact, proved there was no such thing as super fetus memory, as he once tried to justify his being born first claims. If there were, he would have known this.

"Well, not long after their ceremony, my mother and father officially moved into the palace as a married couple and not even after two months of marriage, my mother and father were expecting their first child, me." Mikayla said proudly. "So let's fast-forward to when I was born. My dad says that I would have been the newest playmate for you and Boomer once I became at least six months old, but I never got the chance because you two were taken to Chicago…"

Brady was surprised to hear this information. He nodded, urging her to keep going.

"So, I grew up in the castle as the only child there. My dad worked as the royal advisor and guard, doing his best to keep the island safe. My mother taught the village school during the days and came home to spend time with me. From what I can remember and what my dad tells me, my mom would teach me how to read and write at the age of three! She'd take me to the beach to collect shells. She and I would play dress up; she would always put me in royal robes and a crown. Every night she told me," Mikayla paused for a moment and giggled nervously, "She told me that one day, I was going to be queen of this castle because I was the most beautiful girl she knew, inside and out."

Brady could not have agreed anymore with that statement. For a second he got lost in the sight of Mikayla wearing royal garments and crown atop her head, arms linked with him, making the perfect royal couple portrait. He came back to reality, fully focused on the rest of the story. Mikayla paused for a moment to recollect her thoughts. "I didn't realize it, but around when I was three years old, my mom was getting weaker. And at the age of five, she couldn't chase me around the plaza anymore. She couldn't swing me in her arms. She barely had enough energy to go to beach with me. My dad tried to explain to me that my mom was very sick. He tried telling me that she needed to rest more to get better. From what I remember, I would sometimes come to her room, bringing new shells I found at the beach. I remember that I would read to her too. I made myself believe that she was getting better each time I came to her room, that one day in the near future, she would be back doing our favorite activities like before." Mikayla took a deep breath. Her eyes were sullen.

"Then one day, I rushed to my mother's room, because I found the prettiest sand dollar. I gave it to her saying that it was hers to keep because it was as pretty as her. I remember seeing her tear up. She gave me a tight hug and kissed my forehead. I don't remember what she said exactly, but she gave an armband that she wore. She said it was her good luck charm. She wanted me to have it, because it will always be a reminder that someone will always be at my side, not matter what. She held me in her arms for a long time. I remember my dad telling one of the palace attendants to take me to my room for bed and the next morning I woke up," Mikayla's lips quivered and her eyes started to water. "My dad told me she passed away."

Mikayla sniffled a bit and wiped away her small stream of tears from both eyes. Brady moved from the end of her bed and moved closer to her. He put an arm around her, prompting her to lean on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes. After, Mikayla had stopped crying and gathered her composure. She sat up and cleared her throat. "You know, that's why I wear armbands sometimes. As a constant reminder that my mom's always there by my side."

Mikayla then gave a smile and touched the armband that graced her left arm. Brady returned her smile with a smile of his own. Never had she shared that story to anyone else until now. She shared it with someone whom she felt she trusted and more importantly, with whom she felt safe with. It was then Mikayla leaned back toward the king, as her head lay perfectly on his shoulder.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've always wondered what happened to Mikayla's mother, I don't think it's ever addressed on the show, so I decided to add that in here.<p>

What'd you guys think? Comments appreciated!

Ooh and Chapter 6 Title Preview? The Heart Grows Fonder


	6. The Heart Grows Fonder

**A/N: **I apologize for the extensive hiatus. But here's Chapter 6!

**Chapter 6: The Heart Grows Fonder**

Unbeknownst to Mikayla, the moment she laid her head back onto Brady's shoulder, the king had a mini panic attack. This was the first time Mikayla had showed this sort of affection toward King Brady. Sure, she had embraced him for a good while after some of his more heroic and nobler deeds. And sure, she pecked him on the cheek, almost inches away from his lips, _twice. _

But for some reason, anxiety was running high. Brady typically kept his cool whenever Mikayla showed any sort of affection toward him, but that was always the case because there were other people around them. Usually her dad was in close proximity to break the two up before anything else could have happen or Boomer was there to make things awkward if the two decided to do anything more. However, now as the first time Brady and Mikayla were secluded and the clueless king had no idea what to do. The only other time Brady was ever really alone with Mikayla was when he became the infamous masked vigilante, Sirocco. He and Mikayla had almost kissed and had it not been for Boomer's inconvenient arrival, they would have. Of course, Brady felt taken aback, but that all went away once went back into "Sirocco-mode" and had every ounce of confidence in the world. Now, there were no family members to interrupt or fake personas to hide behind, this was real. It was just Brady and Mikayla.

_Okay Brady, you've seen too many romantic comedies to not know what to do in this situation. _Brady thought to himself. His mind was a jumbled mess.

Brady initially thought that best way to approach this situation was to be bold. He would gently nudge her off of his shoulder, gently take hold of her chin, and bring her in closer so that their lips would meet. From there, they would passionately kiss until they could not kiss any more. However, Brady decided against that approach. Mikayla would probably flip him onto the ground and threaten him with more physical harm. She would probably forever see him as some obnoxious creeper. Brady then thought that he should take a more compassionate approach. He thought about those movies where the guy saves the girl from almost dying and holds her safe in his arms until she finally stops crying only to repay her hero with a big kiss. But Brady predicted that he would probably have to hold Mikayla for a good hour and eventually she would just fall asleep and the next morning when they woke up in separate beds, she would tell him what a great friend he was. Friend zoned. The best possible way to approach was to just go with his gut. Mikayla always liked that he was genuine. The king decided that the best possible way to go about this was to just go with the flow. After all, that's how he and Boomer had been running the kingdom since they arrived and they and the rest of the island were still in one piece.

_The best way to go about this is to do a little of both. Be bold and be caring. _Brady thought. _I'm just going to gently put an arm around her and work my way into a kiss. Yeah, that's it. You got this, Brady. You're a king, and an adorable one at that. _

Mikayla had been leaning on his right shoulder. Her eyes were closed. Her sniffling had stopped. Her hands relaxed properly on her lap. Her breathing was quiet. If King Brady did not know, she was probably fast asleep.

Carefully, Brady began to put his arm around her. That was the easy part. Mikayla did not break free from his half embrace. So far, everything was going according to plan. From there, Brady looked at the guard girl, hoping she would turn and catch is gaze. She looked so innocent and fragile. Brady kept his eyes locked on her despite the fact her eyes were closed. Seconds became minutes until finally Mikayla got up from his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

Whatever plan he conjured in his head was now gone. The moment she stared back, he drew a blank. Her eyes, although wet from crying, were so raw and pure. Her frown had turned into a warm, effortless smile. Brady had been in this situation plenty of times. Here he was again getting lost in Mikayla's eyes.

Before he could recollect his thoughts and get right back to his plan, Mikayla had finally broken the silence –as well as his staring. "Thank you Brady, for uh, being a literal shoulder to cry on. It's not everyday you see the toughest girl on the island break down. Thanks for listening to me."

"You're welcome." Brady replied slowly. He was still at a lost for words to say.

Mikayla chuckled. "Uh, so let's get back to the game, it's my question now."

"Oh yeah, shoot." _Great Brady. You pretty much ended the perfect opportunity to kiss Mikayla._

"So I guess, I'll lighten the mood again with this question. What's the best part about being a twin?" Mikayla asked.

Brady had gotten over his missed opportunity and did not even have to think about how he was going to answer her question. "Well, lots of things! I mean you're never alone. Somebody knows you as well as you do. If you get into trouble, you can automatically blame him…"

Brady paused for a moment before he could continue. "But most importantly, the best thing about being a twin, is knowing that my twin is Boomer. We've been through everything together. No matter how many fights we get into, I know for a fact that we're gonna be cool. And well, he inspires me. You know, I'd probably be a terrible leader if I were the only king of Kinkow. Boomer, believe it or not, is there to keep me in check. He's always there supporting me and most importantly he's always gonna have my back and I'm gonna have his… Despite the fact that he's **still** not here."

_Who is this Brady and what did he do to King Immature-And-Creepy?_ Mikayla could not believe that all of this was coming from Brady's mouth. Behind the goofball exterior, she realized Brady was a very sensitive guy, with the best of intentions –a quality she admired. _I love how he's being so honest and real and… Wait I did I just say love?_ It was Mikayla's turn for her thoughts to go blank. First it was opening up to Brady, and then leaning on his shoulder, and now she was admiring the traits she's never seen before. As a matter of fact, Mikayla had also noticed that Brady had really toned it down with the flirting. Sure he was still staring at her like a puppy, but that was okay, he looked pretty adorable doing it… Wait adorable? Before she could even compose all these thoughts, she was interrupted.

"Oh, and it's always fun to be each other and confuse people!" Brady replied.

Mikayla lifted an eyebrow. "I was kidding…" Brady reassured. "But anyways I guess I'll go into my next question. I've kinda been saving this one, so here goes. Uh, who's your first boyfriend?"

Mikayla's brows furrowed at the straight-forwardness of his next question. "Well, uh, you remember Lucas, right? Well he was my first. We were like thirteen, so I don't know if that even counts as a real boyfriend, but it is what it is. It lasted a good four months before he joined those sea raiders."

A little pang of jealousy hit Brady. Luckily for Brady, he was history in her books. However, thoughts of Lucas enduring a night hunt with Mason filled his head. Come on, twelve years old?

"Yup and since we're on the subject of our love lives, who was your last kiss?" Mikayla slyly asked. This was the first time she was actually interested in Brady's previous love track record.

Brady's face went blank for few seconds, followed by some nervous laughter. "Oh you don't want to know that..."

"I promise I won't get jealous." Mikayla replied and playfully nudged the King on the arm. Brady almost died of a heart attack. Was that flirty Mikayla?

Brady smiled nervously before answering. "Well, to be honest. I haven't had my last kiss because I've yet to have my first kiss." Brady replied quietly as he rubbed the back of his head. _Great, your last kiss could have been a few minutes ago…_

"Oh, I see." Mikayla responded. She had no clue what to say to that. She was maybe half expecting to hear some embarrassing story of Brady's last kiss rather than nothing at all.

"Well, I mean I've 'dated' girls in the past. But obviously, nothing was ever serious enough to the point where we'd kiss and I mean, _really_ kiss. But there you go. You found out one of my most secret of secrets." Brady replied and quite confidently at that.

Mikayla nodded understandingly. She was then taken aback by Brady's next question.

"Since we're on the subject of kissing, who was your first kiss?" Brady was feeling bolder. He'd expect her to answer with a disinterested story about Lucas, but what we he got was definitely not that.

"You have got to swear to me you will not say this to anyone. If you do, I will make sure that you won't be eating solid foods for a week. So swear." Mikayla threatened harshly. She held the handle of her machete, as if she were ready to attack.

Brady fearfully nodded. "I swear, I swear."

Mikayla let out a heavy sigh. "My first kiss was when I was eleven. His name was Jay. We were really good friends in village school. His family grew some of the produce for the island. So during a Harvest Festival, his entire family was there to present the biggest onion. Being the active preteens we were, we ditched the festival to throw rocks in Piranha Pond. We ended up having great time just being kids. Afterwards we just sat on the edge of the pond just goofing around and before I knew it, Jay had leaned over and kissed me on the lips."

Brady felt an even larger pang of jealousy now. His precious Mikayla had most likely kissed more than one guy, assuming Lucas was on the same boat as Jay. He frowned knowing that he was not sailing on the "I've-Kissed-Mikayla" ship.

"And before he knew it, I almost pushed him into the pond, trying to escape from that kiss." Mikayla continued. "I threatened him that if he ever pulled anything like that on me again or even told one soul of that incident I would throw him into the Piranha Pond. He nodded and almost cried and ran back to the village. I see him from time to time at school but we haven't spoken since that day."

Brady tensed up. He could not believe how mean Mikayla was at eleven years old. He began to worry, thinking that would be his fate if he did try kissing her. "Wow, Mikayla. Kind of harsh."

"You would be mad too if you're the first person you kissed had horrendous onion breath! I could not even look at onions for weeks! It was just so out of nowhere and I just panicked, okay." Mikayla defended.

Brady nodded with acceptance. "Good to know." _Note to self, avoid onions, completely._

"Since we're on the subject of our love lives, my next question… Hmm. Ah, what is your idea of a perfect date?" Mikayla continued. They were now on their 7th question of the game.

Brady was about to blurt out an impulsive and flirtatious comment, but he thought about her question a little harder. Of course his perfect date involved his dream girl, Mikayla, but what else would there be?

"Well, my perfect date would be awesome. I'd take the first balloon out of Kinkow to Chicago. Share a deep-dish pizza at the best pizza place ever. And get courtside tickets to a Bulls game. Then we'd take a nice walk around the city eating ice cream. But, to be honest, I'd actually plan a perfect date revolving around her interests. I know I can be selfish sometimes, but if my girl is happy, I know for a fact that I'm going to be happy. And that right there is perfect." Brady replied sincerely.

Mikayla was in awestruck. Who was this Brady? Why was Brady so busy pulling all these crazy stunts to get her to like him, when all he had to do was be honest like this? This was a side of Brady that she rarely got to see, but when she did it always reinforced how much more she liked him than hated. But was this "liking of Brady" something more than pure friendship? Mikayla's thoughts were all over the place. She felt a fluttering in her stomach as she thought about herself watching a basketball game with the king and eating a gluttonous slice of pizza. Wait what? Was Mikayla actually fantasizing about dating Brady?

"Earth to Mikayla…" Brady waved a hand in front of her dazed face. Brady felt a little defeated. He thought he had came up with the perfect answer to sweep Mikayla off of her feet, but all he got was silence and maybe even worse, a lack of interest for that matter.

Mikayla broke out of her reverie. "Oh right. Yeah I kind of spaced out for a bit. I didn't hear your question. Sorry." Mikayla apologized quickly.

Brady felt discomfort as he uttered those words. "Oh, uh I asked… err… Maybe it's too personal…"

"No! I mean, just ask it." Mikayla interjected. How much more personal could King Brady ask after knowing about her kiss?

"Have you ever been in love?" Brady asked quietly.

Mikayla felt herself blush. Well that _was _personal. She already knew how to answer this question, but it was just articulating it was going to be difficult. "Wow, pretty deep question, King Brady. Umm, well my answer for that is no. Sure I've had love interests in the past, but I can't really say they were 'first love' material. It was probably because I was young and inexperienced. I mean, no one takes twelve-year olds seriously, and to say that they're in a relationship at that is just dumb. But my idea of love is something bigger than just being with someone who makes you happy. The person you're in love with has to make you a better 'you'. They're there to not only support you, but also guide you to do your best. They're the one person you think of when you're feeling down because they are the only person that will make you feel happy even though you're in a bad situation. I want the person I fall in love with to make me feel all those qualities. I want him to not only be my boyfriend, but also my best friend who knows me from the inside and out."

Brady had kept his eyes locked on the guard girl as she spoke. What she said was so heartfelt and real. Despite the beauty of her answer, Brady felt slightly discouraged. Brady wanted more than anything for Mikayla to like him back the way he did, but how was he going to fulfill her big expectations of love. She wants her best friend to be the one she loves. Brady only recently found out her favorite color was blue and still had trouble remembering her favorite ice cream flavor. He was nowhere near the best friend status.

"W-wow. Mikayla your answer, was just… wow." Brady didn't know what to say. He felt that he liked Mikayla even more now, but now felt that it was going to be harder to even get her to like him back.

Mikayla gave a shy smile as he was still at a loss of words.


	7. Hidden Forever

**A/N: **Obviously I'm not writing this during the time Brady leave/Boz arrives, so bear with Brady's personality in this one!

Chapter 7: Hidden Forever

Boomer had finally arrived at the plaza. Thanks to some East Kinkow minions, Boomer was able to sleep peacefully on rickshaw as they trekked the jungle in the wee hours of the morning.

"You know, next time you guys might want to try marching in unison. It got a little bumpy for a while and you a king needs to get some beauty rest." Boomer said. The men all gave the King some mean scowls.

Boomer headed into the plaza and found Lanny sitting on his thrown with both his and Brady's crowns on sleeping peacefully. "Lanny?"

The conniving cousin immediately woke up from his slumber. Startled to see the king, he was at a loss for words.

"Uh sorry to wake you, but why are you on _our_ throne wearing _our_ crowns?" Boomer questioned him.

Lanny immediate shot up form the throne. "My King! You're back! You must have gotten lost… like I did! Yeah, these jungles… It was getting real late and I eventually found my way back to the castle and figured that you had things under control so I took it upon myself to uh, warm the throne and both your crowns! Yeah, that's it. My kings only deserve the best!" Lanny managed to lie his way out of another situation again.

Boomer looked skeptical at first. "Well alrighty then. Okay as tired as I am, I promised to get my brother and Mikayla out of that cave. I'm going to sacrifice some beauty sleep, but it's family and friends over my good looks… well just for today."

Boomer grabbed The Great Book and began flipping through the pages. He may have taken hours to get here, but at least progress was being made, much to Lanny's dismay.

* * *

><p>Both Mikayla and Brady were taken aback by learning each other's answers. They had never seen one another in this sort of light. In one night they were telling each other their deepest, darkest secrets. For the first time, Brady was learning more about Mikayla than he had ever before. Their conversations were always filled with flirty comments and exasperated retorts.<p>

Mikayla was now conflicted about her feelings toward the king. She knew she had liked Brady as a friend, but now there was more to him than she even imagined. She still couldn't admit to herself that she liked the king. She paused for a moment before she spoke.

"Well I suppose I should ask my second-to-the-last question. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?"

It was Brady's turn to admit another secret. Surprisingly, Brady had long thought about the answer to this question almost on a weekly basis. No matter how many times he and Boomer screwed up the kingdom, he knew that each time he was going to make improvements because he loved Kinkow.

"10 years from now, I'm probably going to still be a goofball. But that's not what's going to define me like it does now. It may not seem like it, but I want to really be a King of Legend not because a prophecy has decided it. I want to be a king that is brave and knowledgeable. But most of all, I want to be a king for the people. I owe it to the people for giving my brother and I chance after chance when we mess up. So, I want to make sure that I give the people the best possible. Granted, I know I probably can't do that in the next week. But I have 10 years. While I don't have plan after plan set up, I'll do it. And I promise you, it really doesn't seem like it now, but I want to be one of the best kings, Kinkow has ever had." Despite Brady's solid answer, he knew he could have said more. He just could not find all the right words to say. This was his future he was talking about. The future was a big thing.

Mikayla's look on the King had immediately changed. Not just her literal look of her jaw dropping and eyes wide open, but her outlook on the king was no longer what it has always been. She felt something very different in her stomach, like some sort of fluttering. When she looked at Brady it was different, she just wanted to smile for some reason.

_Okay Mikayla, you like him. I don't even know if like is the correct word, even. He stole your heart with a few simple answers to a silly game. But this is the real Brady that I never get to see. The completely honest King Brady._

Mikayla had finally admitted to herself, after hours in a mysterious cave that she had fallen for Brady. She had one final question for him, but she'd have to wait one more turn to ask. "Brady, I believe it's your question now."

The oblivious king hand not realized why she was so urgent to have ask the next question. For all he knew, the girl wanted to get the game over with. However, he managed to dig up a question that made sure she had enjoyed her time. "So, uh, are you kinda glad you got stuck in this cave with me?"

"Yes, Brady. I've learned so much about you. I'm glad you were able to tell me all those things. I feel like I finally got to know the real you –like I finally got to know my best friend." Mikayla quickly answered. Sure, she was not as concise with her current answers compared to her previous ones, but that was only because she did want to rush her answer to get to her question. There was no truth held back in her answer, so she thought nothing of it.

Confused, Brady accepted her quick response. Although he had accepted it, he could not help but feel disappointed. _Best friend._ Was that it? Was that all Mikayla thought of him? Brady was hoping that maybe she would reveal something more, particularly something that let him know that maybe she possibly saw him as more than a friend.

"Um, Brady. How do you really feel about me?" Mikayla was almost as quick to ask her final question, as she was to answer his last question. Brady felt a heavy feeling in his stomach. All he could think of were the words, "best friend". While he did see the potential love that could blossom between them, he thought it was best to respect Mikayla. Brady was thoroughly convinced that Mikayla only saw him as a friend. Revealing his true feelings would just complicate the situation. If he were to tell Mikayla how he really felt about her, how would he be able to handle the awkwardness as a result or even worse, the rejection? Brady did not want to ruin the strong friendship they had, by proclaiming his love. He knew Mikayla had the maturity to distinguish what was love, after hearing her previous answer to a question. Brady knew the way he loved Mikayla was nowhere near the way Mikayla portrayed love.

"Well, uh." Brady nervously started. He scratched the back of his head and began looking around the cave, avoiding her glance at all costs. He could not bring himself to tell the truth. King Coward was taking over again. "Mikayla, you're the hottest girl I have ever met. And the way I really feel about you… is that I want you to be my smoking hot date for my next prom and the one after that."

Mikayla could not believe what he said. That was it? Hours of conversation and learning each other's secrets had lead to this? After all this time, Brady only had the courage to tell her that he wanted her to be his prom date. She felt discouraged, knowing that after opening up to him, he still could not be completely honest with her. He had resorted back to his old ways of hiding his feelings with goofy pickup lines and attempts at being suave.

Brady, too, felt disappointed but could not get the courage to tell her the truth. As much as he wanted to proclaim his love, he thought logically. He wanted more than anything to keep her as a friend than push her away with his feelings. Mikayla would never want a serious relationship with him.

To break the silence, Brady reminded, "So, uh, it's my question now."

"Actually, Brady, I'm getting kind of tired. It's pretty late, I'm going to head to bed." Mikayla responded. She made her way over to the makeshift divider, as she prepared to sleep. There was bitterness in her tone of voice, which was not surprising.

"Mikayla, wait…" Brady interrupted.

Before Brady could even continue, Mikayla had placed the divider between the two. "Brady, it's late. I'm tired. Maybe when your brother finds us tomorrow, we'll be able to get out of this mess. You can talk to me then. For now, it's been a long day and I am finally going to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, my king."

Defeated, Brady laid back on his bed. He had never felt more angry and disappointed in himself. Even when he and Boomer had almost destroyed the island multiple times, he still never felt this low. Brady had just managed to screw up the one the one opportunity that he had been waiting for since he laid eyes on the gorgeous guard girl.


	8. Final Question

Chapter 8: Final Question

"I found it!" Boomer exclaimed. After fervently searching through the large book, he had found the solution to the cave problem and had a map of getting there. "Guards, let's go!"

Luckily for the king, Lanny had fallen asleep, so there would be not setbacks this time. The guards and Boomer headed out of the castle, as the sun slowly rose. Hopefully they would get Brady and Mikayla out before Mason arrived.

* * *

><p>Brady lied restlessly on his makeshift bed. He could hear his heart beating loud. Despite staying up all night with Mikayla, he could not get one minute of slumber. He screwed up… big time. His one chance to finally tell Mikayla could not have happened at a more perfect time and he messed it all up because of his insecurities. Brady was too nervous that she would only think of him as just a friend. However, the joke was, yet again, on him. After falsifying his answer to Mikayla's questioning of his true feelings, she shut him out. It was apparent that it was not the answer she wanted to hear. Clearly, the king had no confidence. Confidence. That was something Brady knew he had lacked this since he could remember. This was no time to be a coward. Not anymore. He got up and pushed the divider away.<p>

"Mikayla!"

Mikayla was immediately awoken and was met by King Brady's face inches away from hers. He had been trying to wake her up for the last minute or so. She groggily propped herself. Her bloodshot eyes equally met his. Even in such a sleep-deprived state, Brady thought Mikayla was absolutely stunning.

"My king, it's like six in the morning and I've only been asleep for two hours." She sleepily said and positioned herself back into her side to get some more sleep. Brady had stopped her, by placing his hand on her shoulder. Mikayla raised an eyebrow at his notion.

He stood up and took Mikayla's hands to lead her up to her feet so she could face the king. "Mikayla, I've got something to say."

Mikayla took her hands away from the king's and folded them across her chest. This had better be important to be waking her up. It was apparent that she did not sleep off the anger she had a couple of hours ago.

"Mikayla, when you asked me that question earlier. I… I didn't know what to say. I panicked. Like I always do. It's easy for me to tell you how good you look or how I really am attracted to those looks, how your hair smells so…" Brady's train of thought got lost as he stared longingly at the girl in front of him. He was brought back to his senses when her blank expression turned into a scowl of annoyance.

"…That's not my point. I didn't give you the real answer to your question last night. I didn't because I was, afraid. I was scared that if I told you how I felt, I'd get rejected. You said I was your best friend. As much as I am honored to hold that title, I didn't want to be just a best friend. Honestly, I don't ever want be in the friend zone forever. My feelings for you are too strong to only be 'just friends'. Mikayla, the moment I saw you walk into the castle for the first time, it was love at first sight and now it's turned to something even more. Like I have already told you, countless of times, you're beautiful. You've got perfect, shiny hair; you've got exotic, brown eyes; you've gotten a rockin' bod…"

Mikayla gave him a look that read, "If you get any more inappropriate, I'll be sure to machete you until you cannot walk."

Brady let out a nervous chuckle before continuing. "Just kidding on the last part… sort of. But Mikayla, I knew for a fact that I didn't want things to be awkward between us if I told you how I felt. When you mentioned that you wanted to be in love with your best friend. I got discouraged because I didn't think I could be both to you. King Creepy, really is King Insecure… I finally realized, besides from Boomer. You're my best friend. I can act like a complete idiot and you still will give me your time of day. I can now tell you all my secrets. You're the person I think of whenever I'm down. But I just don't want to be best friends with you. Mikayla, I love you. I know it's crazy how I can say I love you when this is the first time I've ever been completely honest or whatever and we're only friends and we've never…"

Before Brady finished his rambling, Mikayla put a finger to his lips to cease his talking. She smiled. "Brady, all I ever wanted from you was to be completely honest with me, to just be yourself. You can drive me crazy sometimes and get me into the most ridiculous situations, but without you, my life would probably be boring. Beneath that goofy exterior, you've got the heart of a true king, and best of all the heart of the best friend I've always wanted. I thought I wanted someone who was brave and gallant, some sort of 'Mr. Perfect', but Brady, you were the last person I thought I could ever fall in love with, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Wait, did you just say… love?" Brady asked wide-eyed.

"Yes I did, and that was your last question." Mikayla smiled giddily. "I guess that's game over."

Brady smiled, "Not quite." Brady, as confident as ever, leaned in close, and brought his lips to Mikayla's. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as she naturally wrapped hers around his neck as she happily kissed him back.

* * *

><p>"Here it is!" Boomer exclaimed. His eyes met the dreaded cave that trapped his brother and personal guard. The sun was already up, so finding the cave location became easier. One of the guards accompanying Boomer brought out <em>The Great Book<em> and turned to the page on Mysterious Caves.

"Okay, so the solution to opening this cave is…" Boomer started.

"My king?" A familiar voice asked, emerging from the jungle. Appearing from the tropical foliage was the last person Boomer wanted to see.

Boomer's eyes were wide with fear. "Mason! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I'm back from my day off. What are you doing, by this mysterious cave and with all the guards?" Mason asked, condescendingly. He knew something was definitely wrong, not because of all the guards, but because Boomer was awake before noon.

"Well you see, Brady and Mikayla kind of got stuck here yesterday on our way to the East Kinkow festival thing…"

"WHAT?" Mason yelled. "Stuck? Since yesterday?"

"See, now we really have to get them out pronto. Okay everyone, step aside, this is a king's job."

Boomer motioned for everyone to move back and he got ready to open the cave entrance. He had read it in the book, and saw it as the quickest solution. In one motion, the king hocked out his saliva and spit right into the cave entrance. Kinkow was quite the island; king's spit was used for a lot of things. The rock barricade had turned into dust and the cave was now open. Everyone rushed in to find the missing pair but was greeted by an unexpected surprise.

No one would have guessed to find King Brady and Mikayla in a passionate embrace, kissing like no one was watching. They were so preoccupied with one another; they did not even notice the group of palace officials watching them in disbelief.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Mason yelled loudly, enough to probably break a few more rock walls.

The pair had pulled apart and stared in disbelief. Well things could not have gotten any more awkward now.

Rather than cowering behind his new girlfriend, Brady stepped forward, approaching the fuming father. "Now Mason, I know this looks really bad and well, you know I really care for your daughter…" Brady was starting to come to a loss of words as Mason's glare crew deadlier with each word.

"You've got a five second head start before I this hunt begins." Mason said coldly.

Brady laughed, "Mason, you know I already won the right to date Mikayla. Remember when I spit an egg in your face and you landed in the mud and that cannon went off?"

"Oh my king, that was when I knew my daughter would not actually date you and when I thought you had no chance of winning," Mason chuckled back. "Whoops, I think I forgot to maybe mention that I had other plans for when Mikayla does actually choose to date a boy!"

Brady's eyes widened. "_Other plans?_" He looked to Mikayla who gave him an equally confused look as well.

"You see, I only have one baby girl, and I have no intention of letting her go, that's why when the time did come for her to get a boyfriend, king or no king, I had every intention of tweaking the night hunt rules a bit. See as Mikayla's father, I need to make sure whatever boy my baby picks is worthy. Royal status or not, I've created my own version of the night hunt for this moment. You see, instead of a night hunt, I took it upon myself to change it to a 24-hour hunt. Same rules apply as last time. You win, you date my daughter. You lose, I shave your head, and Mikayla is off-limits. Now that five-second head start will start now."

Brady still in disbelief, laughed nervously. "Y-you can't be serious, right?"

"Five. Four. Three…" Mason began counting with a scary smile on his face.

Brady finally grasping the seriousness of this situation gave a wide-eyed looked to his love. "I'll see you in twenty-four hours, girl." He gave her one quick peck on the lips before running for his life out the cave entrance.

That little motion prompted Mason to give a shocked look at his daughter, to which she responded with a nervous smile. She gave her father a hug before he bolted out the cave entrance.

* * *

><p>An hour later…<p>

Brady had been running around the island with Mason hot on his tail.

_I need to find a place to hide, I can't outrun Papa Squatch for another twenty-three hours. _Brady thought to himself.

"King Brady! Come out wherever you are!" Mason said.

Boomer, who had tagged along with Mason tried every way possible to get the head guard to discontinue his hunt, feeling sorry for his brother. Almost a day stuck in a cave and another day to go outrunning their royal advisor, seemed too much for the king to handle. Unfortunately, his attempts to stop Mason were unsuccessful.

"Come on Mason, I mean, I'd really like to have a brother at the end of this, so why don't you spare Brady, just this once? I'm sure you won't every find him and Mikayla making out again, right?" Boomer reasoned. All he got was a cold look from the guard.

"AHA!" Mason had spotted King Brady running frightened toward the same Mysterious Cave he was stuck in. Before Mason could warn him, the cave had closed shut. "NO!" Mason called out.

Mason looked at Boomer who had followed him. Boomer laughed, "Well, I guess I'll come back in twenty-three hours to spit at this wall…"

Mason gave a disappointed sigh. "I'll lessen your punishment for getting my daughter trapped in a cave if you make it forty-eight hours." Mason bargained.

Boomer gave him a stern look. "Now you really think, I would be so selfish as to keep my brother trapped in a cave for your sick enjoyment? I most certainly will not… but I will get to get out of getting in trouble. Let's grab some breakfast, I'm starved."

The two headed toward the castle, while Brady stay stuck in the cave.

"HEY! Can anyone hear me? How do I get out of here?" Brady banged on the barricade cave walls hoping to get out. "Well at least I've won the right to date the girl of my dreams –if I ever get out…"

* * *

><p>Mini Epilogue:<p>

Brady finally got out of the cave. It may not have been the extra forty-eight hours Mason had hoped for, but Mikayla was able to get him out within the next day, much to her father's dismay.

The boys received a small punishment for their antics; Boomer's was more lenient than Brady's, to Brady's surprise.

More importantly, Brady finally got the girl of his dreams. Brady finally found out the key to escaping Mysterious Caves and he and Mikayla frequented the hidden hideaway on the days Mason allowed them to go out, you know just so they know Mason wasn't hiding in the bushes during their stargazing hikes or dressed like a waiter in the restaurants they went to.

It may take a while for Mason to accept the fact that he now had to share his little girl with King Brady. However, Mason reasoned that he would much rather have his daughter date Brady than any other guy on the island. He had faith in him and knew he would never break his little girl's heart. As an added perk, he easily had a twenty-four hour watch on him in case he pulled any funny business.

Brakayla was finally in full force. Who knows, maybe Mikayla would finally step down as head guard in the future to fulfill the role as Queen of Kinkow? Maybe she and Brady would raise a family of trendily named children, Brody, Braden, and Brooklyn? All they knew is that they were finally together, as it was meant to be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thank you to everyone that supported this story! I apologize for always putting this off, but I definitely hope that you all enjoyed it! Here's to my first story :)


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